Reasonable Suspicion
The Supreme Court first held that a police officer may stop and search an individual on less than probable cause. The Court established that the decisions to stop and frisk a suspect are two distinct determinations. A police officer may stop an individual if he has reasonable suspicion to believe that crime is afoot, but he may frisk the suspect only if he has reasonable suspicion to believe the suspect is armed and dangerous. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968).
Reasonable suspicion is often defined as an “officer's ability to point to specific and articulable facts, which taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant the intrusion.” Id at Terry.
Holding: Officers must have reasonable suspicion to believe a crime has been committed or will be committed, which they may pat the suspect down for only weapons.
